AUSTIN — The man who killed Texas football still proclaims his innocence.

Eryk Anders mostly stays away from Longhorns these days, spending the bulk of his time in Alabama, where they celebrate his alleged misdeed and revere him for it.

But on the rare occasions he ventures back to his former home in the Lone Star State, he hears the whispers in restaurants and notices the people in nightclubs who elbow each other and point in his direction.

“'Oh, you're that guy,'” they say, but Anders downplays the reason for the recognition.

Yes, he was the Alabama linebacker who at the Rose Bowl 31/2 years ago slammed into Garrett Gilbert from behind, sacking the UT quarterback and forcing the fumble that ended the Longhorns' hopes of winning the national title game.

And yes, that play marked the precise moment when UT transformed from a college football superpower into a bumbling, inept program that could do nothing right. But Anders insists there's no blood on his hands.

“Texas didn't go down because of me,” said Anders, a former Smithson Valley High School standout. “I seriously doubt that play put a curse on them or anything. They weren't going to score on us anyway.”

That, of course, is debatable. In fact, there's plenty of evidence suggesting that if Anders had been a step or two slower in getting to Gilbert, UT football might look much differently today.

Let's start with the setup: On the night of Jan. 7, 2010, the second-ranked Longhorns played the top-ranked Crimson Tide in what was UT's second national championship game in five seasons. Both teams were undefeated, and the Longhorns were riding a streak of 10 consecutive 10-victory seasons.

In the first quarter, Colt McCoy, UT's star senior quarterback, was knocked out of the game because of a shoulder injury. Gilbert, a freshman who'd been the national high school player of the year at Lake Travis, replaced him.

Receiving the first significant playing time of his career, Gilbert started miserably but then began showing why he had been so heavily recruited.

With 3:08 remaining in the game, Alabama's 18-point halftime lead had been reduced to a mere 24-21 advantage. UT had the ball at its own 17-yard line. Anders said he believes the Longhorns had no chance of mounting a game-winning or tying drive against the Crimson Tide's vaunted defense, but Gilbert had proven himself capable.

He'd completed 10 of his last 14 passes for 120 yards, and on his previous possession had marched the Longhorns 65 yards for a touchdown. Even if he couldn't reach the end zone again, all he needed was 50 yards to put UT within Hunter Lawrence's field-goal range to force overtime.

But as the Longhorns lined up in a five-receiver formation, Alabama's defense called an audible. Anders stood in front of UT's left inside receiver Dan Buckner as if he was going to cover him, but blitzed Gilbert instead.

Earlier, the Crimson Tide had twice run a similar play from Gilbert's right, with Mark Barron on the blitz. In both of those instances, Gilbert recognized it and avoided the sack. This time, though, Anders was coming from his blind side.

“Their tackle (Adam Ulatoski) wasn't even looking at me,” Anders said. “And Gilbert's back was to me. He never saw me. I said, 'Oh my goodness, it's too good to be true.'”

Anders' hit knocked the ball loose and the Crimson Tide recovered at the 3-yard line, essentially clinching the victory. And that's when UT's descent began.

Longhorns coach Mack Brown later admitted to being so emotionally crushed by the defeat that he moped for months and didn't properly prepare his team for the following season. Some people close to him speculated Brown might have had plans to retire if UT had won the national title. After all, the Longhorns had officially designated then-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp as “head coach in waiting” in 2008.

If Muschamp would have taken over after a championship, or if Brown had simply been more invested in the following offseason, it's reasonable to believe the Longhorns' disastrous 5-7 2010 season could've been much different.

As it was, the players looked uninspired and out of shape, the coaches bickered, and the fans revolted. Gilbert, in his first year as a starter, was an unmitigated mess, displaying near-constant timidity while throwing 17 interceptions. He announced his intentions to transfer from UT the next year.

It's impossible to know for sure if he'd have lived up to his high-school promise if his college career had begun in glory instead of failure. And although it's easy for UT fans to look at what Muschamp has done as head coach at Florida and imagine him lifting the Longhorns into the Top 10 in 2012 instead of the Gators, we'll never be certain if it would have worked out that way.

All we know is Anders took away the possibilities.

He's not a football player anymore. After graduating from Alabama, he embarked on a career as a mixed-martial arts fighter, and he's pretty good. He takes a 12-2 record into a middleweight bout later this month.

But he knows he'll always be known for something he says wasn't even in his control.

“I just had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Anders said of his sack. “It's like the stars were aligned for me.”